Atlanta Daily World

With news still sinking in about Lauryn Hill's impending 3 month jail sentence for tax evasion, the question that everyone started asking was, "Who else has been in trouble with the IRS and had to serve time?" While that question on its face was enough to ponder, an even deeper question started to be asked; "How many caucasian celebrities have we heard of going to jail for this crime recently?"

According to CFO Daily News, the following entertainers or people of note have been in some type of trouble with the US Government for tax evasion:

Martha Stewart
Wesley Snipes
Nick Cage
Marc Anthony
Annie Leibovitz
Darryl Strawberry
Sophia Loren
"Joe The Plumber"
Ronald Isley
Arnold Schwarzeneggar
Toni Braxton
Tom Daschel
Stephen Baldwin
Pamela Anderson
Duane "Dog" Champman
Sinbad
Willie Nelson
Joe "Girls Gone Wild" Francis
Chuck Berry
Richard Pryor

To this list, we add; Beanie Sigel, Ja Rule and now Lauryn Hill.

Of the celebrities listed only a few actually went to jail for those tax-related crimes: Richard Pryor, Richard Hatch, Chuck Berry, Ronald Isley, Beanie Sigel, Ja Rule, Wesley Snipes, Sophia Loren and now, Lauryn Hill.

Now to be fair, it's been reasoned that sometimes when you don't take the plea deal the Government offers you, it can be to your detriment. However, it's interesting to see that even in situations where the crimes are almost duplicate between offenders, one can get a slap on the wrist while the other can do hard time.

Take, for instance, the cases of Wesley Snipes and Stephen Baldwin. While they had pretty much the same crimes across the board, Baldwin admitted failing to pay New York State income taxes for 2008, 2009 and 2010. Stephen Baldwin subsequently received a plea bargain that resulted in no jail time and his record could be wiped clean if he paid back the $400,000 he owed within a year. Baldwin made a $100,000 down payment upon his arraignment and if he didn't pay all the money within a year, the plea bargain provided for five years of probation and repayment within that time.

Whereas, Wesley Snipes did not take a plea deal, he instead chose to go to trial where he was convicted on misdemeanor crimes. Snipes was found guilty on three counts of failing to file a federal income tax return and owing the IRS $17 million in back taxes plus penalties and interest. He too tried to give the feds a good faith down payment, however it didn't prevent him from doing time. As a result, Snipes was sentenced to three years in jail and served the time.

Says Forbes Magazine;

"You can be prosecuted for failure to file a tax return (a misdemeanor) or filing falsely (a felony). The latter is more serious and the penalties are more frightening. Mr. Snipes was tried on felony and misdemeanor tax charges, but only was convicted of misdemeanors."

Interesting how the two are convicted of almost the same thing, but one gets to have his record expunged, goes home to his family at night and in the event he can not pay the amount owed in one year, will somehow receive an additional five years to pay back the money, with the addition of probation. And the other party gets locked up like he's Nino Brown in real life form. Sort of ridiculous when you think about it. We only wish we had someone named Miss Hawkins to speak to on the matter. (If you got the reference give yourself a high five!)

So are African American celebrities being unfairly targeted, prosecuted and given stiffer sentences than their white counterparts? Or could the difference be between those who chose to take plea deals versus going to court?

Is it maybe the quality of counsel people are receiving from attorneys or could it possibly be a cultural attitude that lends toward fighting the system instead of giving in to it that keeps Black artists from taking the pleas that could keep them out of jail?

We're not sure what the answers are, but we are sure that we will be paying close attention to this the next time we hear that someone is in trouble with the IRS.

What's the 411 on Mary J. Blige these days?

Well, apparently she owes Uncle Sam about $3.4 million!

On top of the $900,000 she allegedly owes New Jersey, the Queen of R&B has been slapped with this big-ass tax lien by the IRS.

According to TMZ:

The IRS filed a federal tax lien against the Grammy winner, claiming she failed to pay all her income taxes for the years 2009 ($574,907.30), 2010 ($2,203,743.53) and 2011 ($647,604.60).

Tax bill grand total: $3,426,255.43. Of course, the IRS needs to get in line ... the State of NJ says MJB still owes $901,769.65 in back taxes. Blige is being sued for allegedly defaulting on a $2.2 million bank loan and her charity is facing a lawsuit that claims it took out a $250k loan and never paid it back.

YIKES! Damn MJB, here's to hoping this all gets settled soon. We don't want you to end up like our other favorite R&B soul sister!

By Christina Coleman for Global Grind Staff

It wasn't too long ago when Porsha Williams informed us all that her & her soon-to-be ex-husband Kordell were still living in the same house, even after he blindsided her with divorce from the next room.

It seems things got a little too real for the former NFL player because, according to Porsha, he's locked her out on numerous occasions.

TMZ reports:

"The "Real Housewives of ATL" star just filed new docs in her divorce war with Kordell ... and it appears the nasty split just got even NASTIER.

According to the docs, filed in family court in Georgia and obtained by TMZ, Porsha claims Kordell has locked her out of their residence on multiple occasions ... and she had to have her lawyer beg Kordell's people for a key."

For now, the reality tv star is living with her mom in ATL but would like a judge to force Kordell to either let her use the house or give her enough money to get her own.

Kordell is ignoring Porsha's attempts at mediation, and doesn't seem to want to reason at all, calling it a "waste of everyone's time." If we were her, we wouldn't be trying to mediate a damn thing...

By SusannaOsborne for Global Grind Staff